Marc

Gasol

Gasol is playing in Spain right now but said the “door is not closed” on a possible return. “I texted him when we had no bigs,” Conley said. “I said, ‘If you wanna come back, now’s the time.’ ... “He’s happy. I don’t know if he’ll return. But I told him the invitation is out there.” As much as we’d like to see him in the states again, it’s unlikely that Marc would have any fantasy value.

His brother Pau has returned from the game, but the 36-year-old Marc is not ready to hang up his Nikes. Gasol is expected to make his debut early next month.

Gasol is reportedly staying in shape in case he does decide to play another year, but this is something that he has not fully committed to yet. It was previously believed that he was leaning towards playing for Girona, which he is also the president of, and this is still an option, but another Spanish club, FC Barcelona is also in play, as well as retirement.

Gasol was recently waived by the Grizzlies after being traded from the Lakers, allowing him to sign with a Spanish team back in his home country. Gasol played two seasons with Girona from 2006-2008 before coming to the NBA, and he will now return with the opportunity to help the team rise back to prominence in the Spanish leagues.

Factoring in luxury tax ramifications, the deal will save the Lakers $10 million. It also clears a valuable roster spot for L.A., who have decent depth at center after signing Dwight Howard and DeAndre Jordan this summer. It appears Gasol’s playing days in the NBA are over, as Wojnarowski reports Gasol and Grizzlies “will work together” and waive him, which will allow the big man to remain in Spain with his family. Gasol made three All-Star games in his storied carer, was named the NBA Defensive Player of Year, and won an NBA championship.

Gasol was traded to Memphis on Friday but has decided to stay in Spain “for the start of the 2021-2022 season.” That leaves the door open for Gasol to join a contender mid-season, though there’s also a chance that the 36-year-old’s NBA playing days are over.

Stein also mentioned that “[I]t’s not yet clear if that means Gasol is poised to be set free to play elsewhere in the NBA or if he would ultimately opt to finish his career in his home country like brother Pau.” Gasol said he would return to the Lakers back on August 3, but maybe he’s having a change of heart. He’s getting up there at 36 years of age but looks like he’ll have enough gas in the tank to finish out his two-year deal with L.A. and try to win a championship with the revamped Lakers roster. He won’t be a viable fantasy option regardless of where he ends up, for what it’s worth.

Gasol, who signed a two-year, $5 million contract before the start of the 2020-21 season, did not live up to expectations during his first season in L.A, posting career-lows across the board. Gasol averaged 5.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 19.1 minutes a night. He will likely see a similar role off the Lakers bench on 2021-22.

Drummond is a far superior rebounder to Gasol, but Frank Vogel probably wanted to insert a little extra playmaking and try to get some chemistry out of the starting lineup tonight. Dre should still see plenty of minutes, but with the Lakers’ rotations being all over the place as of late, we can’t promise anything.

While Drummond has posted six double-doubles since signing with the Lakers, only one had included at least 15 rebounds (14/19/3/1/3 on April 22 vs. Dallas). That changed Tuesday night, as the “Big Penguin” played the majority of the minutes at the five. Marc Gasol (0/3/4) played 17 minutes and Montrezl Harrell (5 points, one rebounds) five. Prior to Tuesday, Drummond hadn’t played more than 30 minutes in a game since the aforementioned loss to the Mavericks.